Friend who ran from Lawrence murder says police should DROP the hunt for Stephen's killers and spend the money on other crimesDuwayne Brooks says money should be spent solving other murder casesThe 19-year string of inquiries estimated to have cost up to 50million

By
Anna Edwards

PUBLISHED:

08:56 GMT, 20 April 2013

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UPDATED:

09:56 GMT, 20 April 2013

Duwayne Brooks says that money should be spent investigating other murder cases

The friend of murdered Stephen Lawrence, who managed to escape a gang of youths after they stabbed the A Level pupil, says that the hunt for the killers should be dropped.

Duwayne Brooks, 38, who fled after a gang of racist thugs began attacking him and Stephen, says that it is time for police to abandon their search for the three other killers after two of the yobs were jailed for life last year.

On Monday it will be twenty years since the pair were attacked by five teenagers and Stephen was fatally stabbed.

After a huge police operation, that involved officers bugging properties, two of the gang – Gary Dobson and David Norris – were finally found guilty last year and imprisoned,

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Lewisham says that money should instead be channelled into other murder cases.

He says it is time for the numerous investigations and inquiries to end.

He said: 'If you let your emotions lead you don't want the police to stop looking, you want them to spend as much money as possible.

'But if you take the emotions out of it, you think about the amount of murder cases which have happened and the amount of money which has been spent on the Lawrence case that hasn’t gone into many of those other murders, which might have solved some of those,' The Sun reported.

The 19-year saga involved a string of failed police inquiries, and is estimated to have cost up to 50million

The killing led to Operation Fishpool that, over nearly two decades, would involve 16 arrests, 1,378 statements and 835 house calls.

The 19-year saga included a series of failed police inquiries and is estimated to have cost up to 50million. The four-year-long forensic review which prompted the new murder trial cost 3.8million.

The unprecedented, anti-terror style bugging operation on the five prime suspects was made necessary because of the bungled initial police response to Stephen's murder.

His thoughts may conflict with those of Stephen's mother, Doreen, who has tirelessly campaigned for justice on behalf of her son.

Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen speaks to the media alongside Stephen's father Neville and brother Stuart (left) outside the Old Bailey in central London, following the conviction of Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris for the murder of her son

It remains a continuing source of pain
for her that three other men — arrested with Dobson and Norris back in 1993 —
are not facing trial, as there is no new forensic evidence linking them
to Stephen.

Doreen says she feels anger rather than
hatred towards the men, who, consumed with racial loathing, killed her
son in an unprovoked attack which lasted, the court heard, barely ten
seconds.

The 60-year-old’s reputation for being a tough campaigner has won her places on various boards advising government policy makers and senior police officers on race relations.

However, regardless of the laws now in place promoting racial equality, she believes racism still exists.

Awarded an OBE in 2003 in recognition of her work, Doreen says she will continue fighting to give young men like Stephen all the opportunities he was denied.

She regards as her proudest achievement the setting up of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, which provides bursaries for youngsters from ethnic minorities to pursue their educational ambitions.